Andy Howlett I liked this film, despite being a bit thrown by the jumpy, confused directing of (I presume) Michael Winner. Bronson is good, as are all the actors playing the major characters. But I think I got most pleasure from the mob-style Fedora hats that almost everyone seemed to be obliged to wear perched high on their heads. Surely by 1973, this style of headgear was way out of date? It looked vaguely ridiculous but at least it kept me amused. There was a 'Dirty Harry' vibe about the film and some of Roy Budd's music was quite close in style to that of Lalo Schifrin. Overall, an enjoyable film but maybe not because of the story.

classicsoncall Definitely not a thinking person's movie. The main plot element here asks the viewer to believe that a top Mafia Don (Martin Balsam) waited forty two years to exact revenge on the mob families that killed his forefathers, planning it on the anniversary date of the initial murders. So right there, this picture blows away the twenty five years a German agent spent infiltrating the British government to aid the Nazis in "Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror". I like my movie protagonists to show discipline but this is just asking too much.And whoa, a police detective rams thorough a dozen flea market stalls and then sideswipes another dozen cars on the way to capture a rogue killer? Not only that, but Lou Torrey (Charles Bronson) barrels through the store front window of a mechanic's garage to boot! If the word 'ridiculous' doesn't cross your mind watching this, then you haven't reached your tolerance level for mindless entertainment yet.But then again, it's Charles Bronson in another one of his Seventies action flicks, and die hard fans will certainly get their fill of the craggy hero here. Personally, I like Bronson myself, so this is one of those guilty pleasures I indulge in every now and then. Even if you have to overlook things like the hood shot by Torrey from an upper story window, who then uses his legs to spring himself forward out the window. Dead guys aren't supposed to be able to do that.The kicker to all this is Martin Balsam in a Godfather styled role who has a fondness for repeating the phrase 'Cappo de tutti capi' a number of times. And since I brought it up, what's with the fellow mobster who seems to be channeling Brando's Don Corleone? That deserved a contract hit right there. You know, when all is said and done, one might have to take in this movie using the advice of Torrey's boss Guido Lorenz (David Sheiner), who at one point stated - "Some mornings I wake up and I wonder why".

dave_starsky77 Good old stone faced Charlie Bronson. Man he's featured in some great movies, The Great Escape, Once Upon A Time In The West (probably his best), The Dirty Dozen, The Mechanic, Mr Majestyk and Death Wish (only the first one, none of the sequels). This, however, wasn't one of them.It's a shame because I was looking forward to this as I like CB's work but this seemed to be akin to a badly made Starsky & Hutch episode. And I love S&H! I have all the seasons on DVD even the awful season 4! The hackneyed plot, clichéd Mafioso villains (one even attempted to pull off a Brando style Godfather accent), cringeworthy dialogue and poorly made action sequences were all major Cons. Often badly made movies with some of these flaws are actually damn fun to watch and partly for said reasons. They have charm and character despite limited production values. Not this time.I couldn't think of any Pro's, even Bronson let me down. He seemed flat and sleepwalked his way through the movie. That didn't stop him making maybe the best pistol shot I've ever seen on screen. From a fairly fast moving helicopter cresting a rise Bronson popped a bad guy below with his trusty .38! An epic feat of marksmanship so unerring that the other hood flung his hands skyward and surrendered immediately....probably in shock and awe.Winner managed to squeeze in a pointless car chase in which Bronson managed to needlessly destroy numerous shops/establishments/stalls in pursuit of his quarry (the guy looked like Nik Kershaw or Lamahl with that hairdo) before roadkilling him GTA style when he probably could have taken him alive and pumped him for info.During said car chase he also managed to bump into a parked car which prompted a semi naked couple to pop up in shock from the back seat. Ahh a 70's movie staple for sure. I've no clue why Winner threw that in there.I can't bring myself to write anymore on this atrocity.1/10 purely for that pistol shot.I'm off to watch The Mechanic.....and not the Statham remake.

dougdoepke It's slam-bang action from rat-a-tat-tat opening to shoot-em-up close. Throughout, Bronson remains his usual deadpan self. As detective Torrey he's on to something big that starts out with small-timer crooks like Jumper and the bi-sexual Langley but leads to the biggest of the big boys. In the process, action jumps back and forth between New York and LA. One thing for sure, this is definitely not a date flick. No romance for Bronson or anyone. In fact, women are hardly even glimpsed at all. Instead, the screen gets clogged with a bunch of ugly guys. Nevertheless, for guys in the audience, it's edge of the seat the whole way.That car chase through LA rivals the big one in Bullitt (1968). Except when Torrey plows through the outdoor bazaar, flinging debris in all directions, I'm wondering where the people are and whether our stone-face cop gives a darn or not. Anyway, I don't think they teach that kind of drive at the police academy. One thing for sure, Torrey's one determined gumshoe. The whole sequence is staged in ultimate slam-bang fashion by director Winner.In fact, Winner stages the whole movie in quick, short shots that include glimpses of the hippie zeitgeist of the time. Happily, the script is a good one that progresses in a single-minded fashion that jibes with Winner's style. Thus plot momentum builds effectively. So why then is the movie relatively obscure in the Bronson catalog. My guess is because of the unrelenting violence and therefore limited audience appeal. Of course, the results never rise above well done thick-ear. But for Bronson fans and action fans in general, the movie really delivers the goods.